BioTraceIT™

by Heidi Riley

BioTraceIT™ is a technology company that has developed a medical device for detecting and quantifying pain in people and animals. The company is based in Charlottetown and incorporated in 2018.

The company’s PainTrace® Monitoring System hardware device uses skin sensors to detect biosignals related to acute and chronic pain displaying real-time pain levels.

Currently, PainTrace® is offered in animal health and research markets improving animal welfare and outcome measures through monitoring the intensity of pain, assisting in determining the anatomical location of pain, identifying the duration of pain, and tracking changes in pain overtime.

As an outcome measure, PainTrace® helps to understand what treatments are most effective and what groups of individuals will benefit most from a particular treatment.

The company\’s research, design, software application development, and technical support teams are located on PEI and components for the PainTrace® are manufactured in Ontario. The company has a strong technical group working in PEI, receives excellent support from the local groups in the community, and is planning to add more employees on the Island in the near future.

“We have worked closely with The PEI BioAlliance, which has a very wide breadth of global experience,” says Deborah Dullen, President and CEO of BioTraceIT™. “They provided a mentor team that has a global business background. We also have access to networking opportunities that help us expand into new markets. It has been a great resource.”

“BioTraceIT™ has received grants and funding supporting research studies into applications for use with humans,” says Marieke Caulier, Lead Technical Clinical Support Specialist. “Currently, the company is looking for human volunteers to participate in a local research study to validate the effectiveness of PainTrace® against human self-report.”

Hiring needs

Positions will be opened soon with the company looking for experienced candidates for Python Development, Data Analytics, Cloud Development and Security, and iOS Application Development.

How to apply

Open positions are posted at www.peibioalliance.com/job-postings

Those interested in applying to BioTraceIT™ may contact Vivian Beer, PEI BioAlliance, at [email protected]

Research study

Those interested in participating in the NRC funded medical device research study may contact BioTraceIT™ by email at [email protected] or visit https://paintrace.com/researchstudy/

About the staff

“On PEI, we have an amazing team comprised of software and hardware engineers, and our technical clinical support specialist team,” says Deborah. “Our present staff members are highly technical individuals. Some working in hardware have at least 25 years of experience. Individuals in our technical clinical support specialist team have 10 years of experience.”

Job titles

• Senior Hardware Engineer
• Electronic Technician
• Lead Technical Clinical Support Specialist
• Technical Clinical Support Specialist
• Senior Software Engineer
• Software and Applications Engineer

Future plans

“The PainTrace® system combines wearable, hardware, and software that allows us to visualize pain,” says Deborah. “The device can be used in multiple industries, including animal welfare, horse racing, research and pharmaceutical, and companion animals in the veterinary space.”

The company’s next goal is to get FDA approval for use of the PainTrace® device in humans. “According to research, 21 percent of the global population experiences chronic pain, and annually, $300 billion is spent on treating pain, so this is a huge opportunity,” says Deborah. “We are pleased to be part of the solution.”

“We are looking towards having a larger facility to do some manufacturing on the Island, but the COVID pandemic has put those plans on hold for now,” says Marieke.